@blessedyforgiven I’m in the same boat as you. I’ll give you the same two options I’m facing:
Option 1: lower your bmi and introduce heavy compound lifting 5 times a week, increase your sleep to 7-9 hours a day and start eating foods With healthy fats, healthy cholesterol and healthy carbs (home made beef, chicken, eggs, cooked with butter and avoid the following: processed foods, restaurant foods, anything cooked with seed oils) that should raise your testosterone to levels that are defined by your DNA. That might only be 250-300. However, over time, your body, with instructions from DNA, will utilize that level of testosterone much more efficiently. I highly recommend going with this option as this is what I’m doing. I’ve been able to gain about 15-25 lbs of muscle mass over the course of 5 years. I’m above average in lifts and strength compared to average gym goers but I’m still work on my goal of the “1-2-3-4” plate PRs for my compound lifts.
This option is a long term approach to your issue and it will take time for you to increase your testosterone levels and you will need to continue this lifestyle for the rest of your life (occasional 1 month breaks or cheat meals will be fine).
Option 2: get prescribed for TRT (testosterone replacement therapy). I highly advise
against this option.
This option allows either your primary care doctor or specialist to prescribe you either a topical cream or an injection of exogenous testosterone that increases your testosterone blood concentrations higher than that which is defined by your DNA. This option is a short term approach to your issue and you will feel the results within the first few weeks of higher testosterone levels.
The reason why I advise against this and I’m personally avoiding this option even after being offered it by two different doctors who’ve checked my testosterone levels is that exogenous testosterone wreaks havoc on almost every system in the body, including cardiovascular, endocrine, and nervous systems. Even at “therapeutic” doses of exogenous testosterone, Your personality will change, your pituitary and leydig cells in your testes will be affected, your blood will literally thicken and you will develop high blood pressure symptoms the longer you take it. The longer you are on TRT, the more your body will shut down it’s natural DNA defined testosterone production, resulting in cell atrophy in the testes and pituitary.
As you get older and essentially “hooked” On exogenous testosterone, you’ll need to introduce other cocktails of hormones to mitigate the damage and adverse effects of long term TRT. Eventually, your heart, which was developed with your DNA instructions that have a specific testosterone target defined, will start to suffer and you may have increased health issues starting in your 50s.
Nonetheless, If you’re really keen on going this route, looking at your testosterone numbers, you definitely should qualify for TRT within most doctors’ opinions. If your current doctor is adverse to prescribing you TRT, ask for a urology referral, since urologists hand out TRT like candy. Do not ask for an endocrinologist referral since they prefer working with diabetics and other patients and seem to avoid male patients specifically seeking TRT.
Good luck with whatever you decide on doing.
